Lightning LS-218 Goes For A New World Record, Stay Tuned
Stay tuned for a new team speed record from Richard Hatfield (CEO of Lightning Motorcycles) and his team. They will bring a Lightning LS-218 dubbed the LS-2?? RR to a whole new height of wild performance. This is the Ferrari of electric motorcycles.
The Lightning Motorcycles LS-218 Goes For More Speed
It’s hard not to get excited when you see, hear, or read anything about the Lightning Motorcycles LS-218. It is THE electric motorcycle, per se. It is the motorcycle that put a hefty and humiliating 22 seconds in front of the best Ducatis at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb Race back in 2013. As Richard brought back the motorcycle at the finish line, I asked him how he felt, and he simply answered: “Vindicated!” I wish I had a camera at that moment to eternalize the wicked grin he flashed as only someone who achieves a milestone like that would know.
So far, the LS-218 has matured and not been beaten. Back in August 2012, the Lightning LS-218 went to the new electric super Bonneville SpeedWeek and left with a top speed of 218 miles per hour. The LS-218 officially became the fastest production bike in the world and was called the LS-218 as a result.
Then, June 2013 saw perhaps the Lightning LS-218’s greatest victory at the Pikes Peak, as mentioned previously.
And on Sunday, July 16, things heated up again as Lightning brought a new bike to the track. “The 211.730 mph first run was the second fastest among 90 purpose built land speed record racing vehicles running during this event and broke Lightning’s own standing start mile record of 189 mph set in 2012 with our production LS-218,” the company writes. Not a bad start. So far, the Lightning team has tentatively pinned down the LS-2?? RR name for the prototype.
With this first record setting test week completed and data analyzed, the Lightning electric motorcycle heads to its next event, the SpeedWeek at Bonneville on August 12–18. Here, Lightning will push the new production RR edition of its Lightning HyperBike the fastest it can go. Pool bets anyone? LS-220 RR?
According to Richard Hatfield: “Our rider, Jim Hoogerhyde, has an impressive resume of race wins and land speed records himself, but Bonneville Speed Week in August is lining up to be a special event. We look forward to working with Jim to replace the ?? with an exciting number for our LS-2?? RR”.
What makes this extraordinary bike even better than the LS-218 already was is that it is now even faster, if you can wrap your mind around that. Lightning managed to use a higher density battery pack developed in collaboration with Farasis to squeeze even more performance out of the bike. This new drive package is integrated into a lighter and more stable chassis producing the most powerful and most rideable motorcycle the team has ever designed and built. The Lightning LS-218 proved Lightning can deliver a world speed record concept into a production bike. The next Bonneville run will prove the bike still has more to offer with a new name.
But if racing and speed performance is not your cup of tea, don’t worry, Lightning has other electric motorcycles in mind for you. It will soon reveal its additional line of motorcycles.
What’s Better Than A Lightning Motorcycle LS-218?
An LS-2?? RR Hyper Bike! Why is a Lightning Motorcycle record so important?
The wild Lightning Motorcycles LS-218 has two important facts to keep in mind. Over a decade ago, Richard wanted a performance electric motorcycle but found there were none to be had. The only thing left to do was to build your own or convert one. Eventually, Lightning came up with the LS-218, an electric motorcycle that has gone up against many others and surprised everyone.
Here’s the kicker: Rochard told me last year that no one had ever held the throttle open for more than a second and a half on that 550 lb motorcycle. Hopefully this gives you an idea how spectacular the LS-218 is. And now imagine even more!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
